Shadows of the Workhouse

[Waitabit]

Thanks to Mutley, I have found a new Authoress in Jennifer Worth with her book, "Shadows of the Workhouse," in the first 61 pages (of 391) I became aquainted with Poplar & life in a workhouse(hellhole).
After a day or so I was able to continue reading & learned all kinds of thing relating to the life of a Fishmonger /fishporter.

Never again will I read of such people in a census & pass over to the next person registered without a deal of respect for those people & others in similar working positions coming to mind.

Now up to page 201 & having read of the work of Convent Sisters around & about Poplar & areas post War,I'm learning a lot about the Convent Sisters & the difference they made in the lives of the local populace. Bless 'em.
Still to come are tales of Army life in Sth Africa & London 1935 - 1945.
Then 2nd to last "The Shadow of the Workhouse" which just by looking ahead shows a poignant chapter as it mentions a poem by Leigh Hunt ....."Jenny Kissed Me" first bought to my attention by a very dear Cousin in relation to his beloved late Wife.

I urge anyone who has the necessary.. to read this book to do so, & then perhaps, as I did reserve her "Call the Midwife" life of a Midwife in the East End 1950s.

Thanks Mutley,harsh reading,but I don't regret it.

[debdjb]

Hi Waitabit,

A few days ago I bought 'The Midwife Trilogy' by Jennifer Worth which combines 'Call the Midwife', 'Shadows of the Workhouse' and 'Farewell'. Think it was only a tenner in Tesco!

I can't put it down. Am about half way through Call the Midwife at the moment which tells of Jennifer's life as a midwife with the nuns in the East End of London in the 1950s. There are many references to Victorian life and social reform to tie-in the background to some of the stories she tells.

I'm absolutely gripped with it and already it has half a dozen orange post-its for items I want to search further on the net. Last night I was in tears reading the story of 'Mrs Jenkins' - in the 1950s a woman in her 70s, dirty, considered mad and living a very sad life in a squalid, condemned building. She spends her days chasing the midwives to find out how the new babies are. To read how she ended up like this - from being widowed with 5 children, injured at work and finally giving in and going to the workhouse in 1916 was quite an eye opener. The family was split in the workhouse and one by one her children died. She wasn't told any of the children was ill and wasn't allowed to attend the funerals.

I was surprised to realise how tough life still was in the East End as recently as the 50s. I have been educated.

It's a fantastic book for getting an real insight into how people truly lived and existed, to give some padding to the facts/figures we find with family history research. Can thoroughly recommend it but have a box of tissues handy!

[angieh]

Hi Waitabit and Debdjb - I shall certainly look out for this trilogy as I've only this week learned that my PGM was born in the Union Workhouse in Stratton near Swindon. I was wondering where to find out more info about life under the Poverty Laws.

[Peter Goodey]

...life under the Poverty Laws

Poor Laws.

You could do worse than make a start at the Workhouse site - workhouses.org.uk (if I give you the full URL it will only be removed).

To find out more about the conditions, I wouldn't recommend fiction. Have a look out for Workhouse by Simon Fowler ISBN: 9781905615285

[Jan1954]

I've only this week learned that my PGM was born in the Union Workhouse in Stratton near Swindon.

You may also be interested in A Wiltshire Village by Alfred Williams. One of the chapters covers the workhouse at Stratton St Margaret where the author interviews some of the residents. The book was written in 1912 so it covers the late nineteenth and early twentieth centuries.

[Mutley]

Poor Laws.


To find out more about the conditions, I wouldn't recommend fiction.

Jennifer Worth's books are not exactly fiction. She writes about her life living in the East End when training to become a midwife. Only the names have been changed to protect any persons still living.

[debdjb]

You beat me to it Mutley!

[Mutley]

You beat me to it Mutley!

They were a good read and as so often is said. Fact is stranger than fiction. Conchita and Len's 24th child, amazing.

And if your ancestors lived in or near Cable Street, well......
We know what they were doing.